The California White and It's Development and Sugar Pine Industry Possibilities

By C. Stowell Smith, San Francisco

The development of the United States from its earliest settlement has been largely dependent upon its forest resources. No wood has so completely and. satisfactorily supplied the needs of home builders and the varied requirements of trade as white pine (Pinus strobus.)

The magnificent forests of white pine first exploited in the Northwestetn States, then gradually westward into the Lake States, are now largely a memory and no longer can the full demand for this premier of soft woods be met.

Fortunately, nature has provid.ed on the Pacific Coast an enpire of timber fully measuring up to the standards qstablishecl by eastern white pine and waiting, not to displace it, but rather to continue it in those markets and for those uses where soft, easily worked pine is best.

It is the purpose of this story to describe briefly this eomparatively new western ind.ustry, its manufaeturing faeilities and products which from now on will be available in inereasing abundance under the wise policy of conservation which goes hand in hand with exploitation.

Ilistory of California Pine Industry

Less than fifty years ago pine lumbering started. on a small scale in the mountains of California. Logging was confined to a few mills along the western edge of the Sierras near the mining camps and small farming towns which were springing up in the central valley of the State. At ,the same time, the cutting of sugar pine for shakes and of incense cedar for fence posts began in the higher mountains in the neighborhood of settlements.

Up to thirty years ago lumbering was done mainly by small circular mills few in number and cutting only for local consumption. Logging was crude and wasteful. OnIy the best logs of sugar and California white pine from medium sized trees were snaked in to the mills by oxen or horses, the small machinery not permitting the handling of large trees. OnIy the clear portions of the trunks were used and the lumber was hauled by wagon to the near-by mining eamps and towns. The cut ranged from 2,000 to 10,000 feet per day.

The coming of rail transportation opening main lines to the East and providing feed.er Iines into the mountains

Typical California White

Typical

r-apidly led to the development of the present large, modern, a problem of keeping ffres away from the young trees, and fully equipped plants capable of producing from 400,000 this is now being accomplished through the -combined eiforts to 500,000 feet in twenty-four hours. .I-.rogging also devel- of the lumbermen and authorizecl public agencies. As it oped the enormous woods engines and equipment now take.s only from 40 to 150 years to grow saw-timber it seems capable of handling whole trees, regardless of size. safe-to assume that this region will be able to furnish lum-

The evolution of the industry from small, inefficient and ber in increasing amounts, indefi-nitely. wasteful units to large, effrcient plants where nothing is lost that can be profrtubly marke'ted, is practically 6m-

Manufaaburing Facilities

plete except in a few localities still far from transportation, As heretofore stated, the plants producing California and the industry is now organized to furnish its softwood pine are most modern in character. Many of them are elecproducts in all markets of the world. trically driven throughout and all are equippect with heavy machinery making it easy to handle the big timbers growing in this territory and which accounts for the large percentage of high-speed band head saws, band resaws, gang saws and all other equipment to corres.. pond. Many have full factory equipment for the remanufacture of sash and doors, boxes, mouldings, siding, ceiling, etc. Mod.ern dry kilns and storage sheds aid in drying and pro- tecting the d"y lumber, although the bulk of the lumber product is air dried. Heavy stocks are carried at the mills in ord.er to meet any requirement for mixed cars. Irumber loaded at the alll does not have to be disturbed u:rtil it is unload at destination.

White and Sugar Pine Forcrt

AII of these plants have many years' supply of timber to draw upon, either their own or that controlled. by the U. S. (]pvernment, which is available for purchase under long term contracts.

Supply and Production

The territory covered by the California White and. Sugar Pine Manufacturers Association ineludes the Klamath Falls region of southern Oregon and the entire length of the Sierra Nevad.a Mountains in California from the Oregon line south to the Tehachapi, also the Coast Range south to Lake County.

In this region there stands approximately 325 billion feet of timber, as follows: Sugar pine, 35 billion; California white pine, 175 billion; White fir, 40 billion; Douglas fir, 45 billion; fncense cedar, 10 billion; Red ffr, 18 billion; and the rest unclassified.

The production of lumber now amounts to approximately one billion feet aunually, which means a virgin timber supply at that rate lasting 325 years. Two factors, however, affect this result, namely an expected increase in production and new forest growth on cut-over lands. The present cut-over lands in California and southern Oregon are now estimnted to be growing timber at the rate of opproximately 250 million board feet annually. Through perfected eo-operation between the U. S. Government, the State and private timber owners, a comprehensive fire suppression and -^slash disposal system has been spread over this entire timber area. Experienee has demonstrated that if ffres are kept out, a new forest starts without planting, the seed coming from defective trees not removed during logging or .from that already in the ground. before the mature trees were cut. Thus reproducing the forests becomes primarily

Our Big New Plant is now prcpared to rerve the California retailers with the following stock: